Sept. 5 - Internet video purports to show two militants firing rocket-propelled grenades at a container ship as it passes through the Suez Canal
in the eastern Sinai. Mana Rabiee reports.

The images are grainy. But this video circulating the Internet claims to show two militants firing rocket-propelled grenades at a passing container
ship in Egypt's Suez Canal. Reuters cannot verify the video. But on Saturday canal authorities said terrorists had staged just such an attack to
disrupt this critical global waterway.

It is funny that it's Reuters video -> Reuters logo in low-left corner, ALL Grainy. They've added their watermark to the video, i get it, but the
thing i don't get is why the video is 240p and grainy as hell. IMO it's very likely that it's intentional. The original video sent to Reuters has
not been so grainy, imo.

Also, the RPG blasts... I've seen many real occasions when RPG hits, and that blast on the video looked just fake to me. The grain...

...and i would expect the projectile to penetrate the container like a cheese.

The explosion does look...odd, there doesn't appear to be any damage to the ship, not even a darkening of the hull. And yeah, I would expect the
grenade to penetrate it like butter, maybe this is why there's no obvious external damage?

The explosion does look...odd, there doesn't appear to be any damage to the ship, not even a darkening of the hull. And yeah, I would expect the
grenade to penetrate it like butter, maybe this is why there's no obvious external damage?

Yeah what alpha said .. Couldn't agree more. The explosions seem a bit iffy to me

Alexandria: The head of American security firm, Nexus Consulting, has said the Cosco Asia, which came under attack over the weekend while
transiting the Suez Canal, was hit by an RPG fired from the shoreline which hit a container on the top tier of the giant ship and damaged the hatch
nearest the accommodation block. Machine gun fire was also reported.
“We don't expect to see either an increase in volume or intensity of attacks, and though this is most likely an isolated incident, not specifically
targeting a ship or ships in general, the canal can expect to see greater risk of collateral damage from conflicts in and around Egypt,” said Kevin
Doherty, Nexus’s president.
The attack took place on Saturday on the eastern side of the canal at El-Sharqiya as the ship was transiting northbound. Doherty’s RPG claim comes,
he said, from quotes given by the master of the Cosco Asia, which docked at Port Said. sinoshipnews.com...

Considering that their goal is probably to close down the Canal or at least hinder operations, they can fire at a ship of any nationality to reach
that goal. The problems in Egypt are to a large extent internal, with external powers supporting different factions inside the country. This attack
is likely not aimed at the Americans, but at the Egyptian military government.

Most likely this is either a warning, or a very amateur attempt at achieving this goal.

I was reacting to the Idea that Egypt seemed to think US ships would cause trouble. But this shows a different case. Looks a bit like Egypt wants to
blame the US if the canal closes when that's not the case. I find it hard to believe they really want the canal closed.

COSCO Asia was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in an attempted terrorist attack this week.Lloyd’s Agents have confirmed the Suez Canal
Authority’s initial line that Cosco Asia was the victim of an attempted terrorist attack. It is understood the RPG hit a container...

Let our position be absolutely clear: An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on
the vital interests of the United States of America, and such an assault will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.

Originally posted by roadgravel
That looked like a COSCO logo on the ship, which makes it China, not American shipping. That would mean either the terrorist don't know what to shoot
at or they are just shooting at any ship.

So, the video shows some guys firing RPGs at a large container ship. Then it shows damaged buildings, suggesting they missed! Not very good
shots!

On a serious note. Closure of the Suez Canal would be a terrorist’s wet dream. Just the type of thing that will help provide more misery to
Egyptians trying to survive poor economic times and social termoil. These Islamists seem to benefit from human misery, which is why they like to
cause it.

(Reuters) - The Egyptian army launched an attack against Islamist militants in North Sinai on Saturday, killing at least nine people, security
officials said.

Two Egyptian soldiers were killed late on Saturday when an improvised explosive device detonated in a road in the North Sinai town of Sheikh Zuweid
near the border with the Gaza Strip, security sources said.

Radical Islamists in the rugged desert region adjoining Israel, who expanded into a security vacuum left by the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in 2011,
have been staging almost daily assaults on security forces and other targets.

Dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles backed by attack helicopters were used earlier in Saturday's operation near Sheikh Zuweid, a few kilometres
(miles) from the Palestinian Gaza Strip, security sources said.

The army said nine militants had been arrested.

Since the army toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on July 3, and especially since security forces killed hundreds of Islamists when they smashed
protest camps in Cairo on August 14, there have been online calls from Islamist radicals for wider attacks on the state.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.